What's in a name
by Cora Summers
Summary: It's funny how so many names can mean so much to just one person.   bad at summaries  slight A/O


**AN: I want to apologize for my long absence. There was some family things i had to deal with this spring, and then my computer crashed which didn't make posting things very easy. But now i'm back and i'm going to start clearing out the Works in Progress folder. It's not easy since new story ideas are coming to me all the time, lol. Regardless though, it will be my goal to finish one story a month. Everyone feel free to im or email me to help keep me motivated.**

**AN2: Special thanks to my beta, Kira. I'm apologizing right now for how busy i hope to keep you.  
**

What's in a name?

When Olivia turned sixteen, she bought her first coffee mug. It wasn't anything special. Just a plain white mug. In order to make it her own, she made a few more purchases that day: a fine tipped paint brush, a jar of black paint, and something the salesman told her would protect the paint from chipping after it dried.

Once home, Olivia laid her purchases out on the desk in her room. She opened the paint jar, took the cup and very slowly painted a single word on the plain white cup.

OLIVIA

She smiled as she inspected her work. The cup was now truly hers.

A year later, Olivia was once again seated at her desk. She had just gotten home from a date with her new boyfriend. Her mother hated him, which made it even better. He was twenty-one and one of her students. Olivia swore she was in love. She felt the nickname she'd received tonight deserved to go on her mug.

OLIVE OIL

Her boyfriend had plans to go into the Navy after graduating. Tonight he thought it would be cute to give her a pet name. One that would have lasting potential. She smiled now just thinking about it.

After it dried, she went over it with her sealant and smiled. Hopefully she'd be able to see her "Popeye" tomorrow.

After yet another year, four more words had made it to the cup.

On her eighteenth birthday she added the first addition.

LEGAL

It was simple and described her new status.

The second word came a few months later, courtesy of her principal. She could never prove it, but she was sure Olivia was behind the pranks that happened during school. Her name for Olivia became one of the larger ones on the cup.

REBEL

Olivia would never admit it, but the pranks she pulled were merely to get a rise out of the Principal. Olivia thought her principal was hot, her very female principal. Needless to say 'Popeye' was no longer in the picture.

Nickname number three came from the first girl Olivia ever kissed, or more accurately the first girl to kiss her.

LIV

Her best friend was moving away, right in the middle of the school year. For as long as she could remember Olivia felt something for Diana but it hadn't been until a few months before she left that Olivia understood what it was.

The day she left, Diana softly kissed Olivia on the lips. When she pulled away she whispered "Bye Liv," and walked away.

Sure others had used the same name before, but it wasn't until Diana had said it then that it felt differently for Olivia.

The last word of her eighteenth year was probably the one that meant the most to Olivia.

GRADUATE

Not only did it signify she'd finished high school, but it was also a constant reminder of one of the only times her mom and told her she was proud.

After graduating with honors from Sienna College, Olivia once again added to her mug.

SUMMA CUM LAUDE

Sure not many people were going to know what it meant, but she did and that was enough for her.

After graduation, Liv put off her entrance to the police academy for a few months and decided to travel to Europe. Her mother had given her money for graduation. She said a relative had left it to her in a will. Serena said she refused to accept it. It was guilt money given after years of neglect. Instead she gave it to her daughter where it would be more appreciated. Olivia figured it was from one relative or another who never paid them any attention. She knew what she was given would be more than enough for her trip. She took what she needed and opened a savings account with the rest.

While in Europe, she spent most of her time in Spain and Italy learning the languages, the customs, and, of course, the women.

Italy was where she had the most luck in that department. She was visiting one of the many vineyards, sampling the wine and learning how to appreciate it, when she met the wine maker's daughter. She was probably one of the most beautiful women Olivia had ever laid eyes on.

She had sandy brown hair, like she couldn't decide if she had dark blonde hair or light brown. Her eyes were a bright green that shone with the sun.

And she seemed to be interested in Olivia. It was lucky that she knew enough Italian at that point to hold a decent conversation.

She informed the young woman that she was only in town for a week or so. The woman told her the amount of time didn't matter as long as they made the most of it. They spent several intimate nights together, never once exchanging names. When Olivia said good bye, the woman pressed a small package into her hand and said good bye using the same name she'd used since the day they'd met.

BELLA

It was a story of her true first love. It didn't matter that it was so short. Olivia knew that she had changed that week. She often wore the necklace that had been in the package the girl had given her as a reminder.

After returning from Europe, Olivia spent the first two months preparing herself physically for the academy. At the age of 23, she had attended and graduated from the police academy and was now a New York City police officer.

After meeting with her commanding officer on her first day, Olivia once again pulled out her formerly white mug.

ROOKIE

Of course every officer started out as a rookie, but it meant something to Olivia. She'd accomplished part of a lifelong dream. It would take time and experience to fulfill it.

Time and experience was exactly what she got. Six short years after becoming an officer, Olivia added another word, or title to put it more accurately.

DETECTIVE

A week later she modified it slightly to specify what kind of detective she was.

SVU

It stood out proudly among the many names on the mug.

After that Olivia's life became intense. So many cases crossed her desk each week, so many vicious felonies, Olivia could hardly sleep let alone worry about adding to her mug.

In her second year though, Olivia met someone. They dated as regularly as their schedules would allow. With the other woman being an Assistant District Attorney, she understood the dedication to her cases.

However, every once in a while Olivia would notice the addition of a word.

ANGEL

It appeared just after the papers ran the story about her being the Angel of SVU.

HERO

The word was painted on the mug after the reaction she'd gotten from a class of first graders.

The next was a word she would have added herself if she'd been given the chance. She still smiled when she saw it. She'd taken it out of the cupboard on the morning of a day she would never forget.

WIFE

And here she stood, only three years after that beautiful day, holding her mug in her hand. It was hard to see any spot big enough to fit the word she wanted now, but she found it.

MOMMY

Her fourteenth month old girl had just called her that. Olivia was smiling so big her face hurt, but she couldn't tell.

Once it was dry, Olivia put her mug back in the cupboard next to an almost plain white mug with a single word on it.

MADELINE

Her cup may have been full, but her daughter's was just beginning.


End file.
